Happy Birthday Carey!

The 23 year old got a nice page from the Habs as well. I'm not feeling very enthusiastic, but I hope you enjoyed your day.

Happy Birthday Josh Gorges!

Happy 26th birthday to our big defenceman!


An interesting thing to note is that the Canadiens actually wished him on their website. This, for me, is a sign that he may become our next captain. No one else got wished on their site this entire summer. (Cammalleri was wished on Twitter, but didn't get a nice page and stuff.) Sidney Crosby did not even get wished on his birthday by the Pens (they've wished him in the past). If Carey gets wished on Monday then I might rethink this (and laugh).


Two quick things: they mentioned Pakistan on their site! (I'm from there originally.) And of course, it's 'Habby Birthday'. ♥

Hope you enjoy your day Josh!

Shots on Net [12.08.10]

Brief this time because Carey hasn't signed. (I'm joking! It's because of summer.) Since I complain talk about him so much, I found some news on him.

Carey Price was at the Chilliwack Exhibition last weekend, participating in the Team Roping competition in the Rodeo. What a cowboy. I'm pretty sure he's the guy in the first picture in the slideshow below, and also at the 1:07 mark. Or am I seeing things? Price seems to be into this thing as he won $300.30 with a buddy doing some team roping at the BCRA rodeo between July 31-August 1. I wonder if he was in it for the cash? For the sake of journalism, I decided to check out the BCRA website and as you can see for yourself, Carey's really into these things as his name pops up twice on overall standing lists. He's made some decent money, but we need to get him to a rink. <Chilliwack Times>

Dustin Boyd was happy to go and skate at Brossard. Get a look at one of our newest players. The video editing will make you realize just how much time everyone has on their hands. <Canadiens>

Jarred Tinordi is joining the London Knights. It pleases me to know that our prospects are choosing junior hockey over university. Maybe I'll even go watch him play. <London Knights, via HI/O>

Also from HI/O, this nice article about Cammalleri in which he discusses leaving Calgary and becoming a Canadien. It's good to know he cares so much about the fans and can understand their emotions. Hope you like your time with us, Mike. <The Montreal Gazette>

In case you've been gone on vacation and want to catch up: an off-season report on the Canadiens' activities. <The Fourth Period>

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I haven't warned you, but I will now. I'm a huge Jose Theodore fan. If it wasn't for him, I would have never become a Habs fan. So I'd like to poke you to go watch this slideshow over at Bleacher Report. Man, I'd love to have him back in net for us. Him in net, and Crosby up front. Maybe one day in the future...

Update: Maxime Lapierre had a golf tournament to fundraise for the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation.  You can find interviews with Max and P.K. Subban linked. Also, there is a link to an interview Cammalleri gave which was probably used in the article from The Gazette mentioned above. <Ya! The Habs Rule>

Hamilton Bulldogs 2010 Hockey Camp

This week long camp took place at the end of July. Get more info from the Bulldogs' website. This video was posted online (with no embedding options) and featured P.K. Subban, Mathieu Darche, Randy Cunneyworth, Randy Ladouceur, and Bulldogs player David Urquhart.

Good to see our guys on ice with some cute kids.

Shots on Net [09.08.10]

Because some news piled up.

Dustin Boyd will be wearing number 17 with the Habs next season. Catch him in a nice new jersey in a pic snapped by @CandiensMTL. <Canadiens>

Michael Cammalleri's back at his university and has been training there. Follow him on Twitter for more updates. <@MCammalleri13>

This past Saturday Yvon Lambert was at 2010 Tonik Tournament, hosted by Bruno Gervais and Max Talbot. Click the link for a nice pic of Monsieur Lambert. <25 Stanley>

Guy Lafleur is having a golf tournament tomorrow and there will be a silent auction as well. I can't find any info about this other than this tweet, so good luck searching. <@ALCCINC>

Speaking of golf tournaments, Mr. Lafleur will also be at two more. On August 18, he will be the president of honour at the 15^th edition of the Desjardins Securities Leucan Estrie Golf Tournament. On August 26, he'll be the chairperson at the 16^th annual Hector "Toe" Blake Golf Tournament. The Canadiens are one of the sponsors of this tournament. Be sure to check out the gallery for some great photos.

Finally, a strange thing I ran across while reading about a fishing trip the NY Islanders training camp attendees took. It's Mark Sterit in a Habs uniform! Anything with a Habs logo is bound to catch my eye. I liked seeing it. The Habs would probably never do this with their players, as no doubt comparisons (to the past level of play) will be drawn up. He's another one of those guys who was around when I first became a fan. Credit to the Islanders, of course.

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In the last SoN what I wanted to write was that we should make signs that say 'Owners of 8th place'. Or maybe '8th place or better'. Really, could we aim to do any better guys? I know it's tough, but you were the best once (2008, you anomalous year) so can we make it happen again? We're banning injuries, inconsistent play (to be consistently good, not bad), and bad luck charms. Let's get elusive number 25!

Birthdays of Habs Players

That's right. It's a list of Habs players' birthdays, by month and date (with year listed on the side so you can calculate yourself). Why? Because I'm booooored. And it's August 9 and it's summer and Carey Price will most likely turn 23 before he signs a contract. And a list is good to have so you can wish them on Twitter/FB/your blog. So let's go!


January
7--Alex Auld (1981)
18--Brain Gionta (1979)

February
3--Andrei Kostitsyn (1985)
11--Jaroslav Spacek (1974)
14---Tom Pyatt (1987)

March
29--Maxim Lapierre (1985)
30--Ben Maxwell (1988)

April
6--Hall Gill (1975), Travis Moen (1982)
12--Roman Hamrlik (1974)

May
3--Jeff Halpern (1976)
8--Lars Eller (1989)
13--P.K. Subban (1989)

June
8--Michael Cammalleri (1982)

July
5--Alexandre Picard (1985)
16--Dustin Boyd (1986)
19--Ryan O'Byrne (1984)

August
14--Josh Gorges (1984)
16--Carey Price (1987)

September
29--Benoit Pouliot (1986)

October
31--Tomas Plekanec (1982)

November
26--Mathieu Darche (1976)

December
20--Andrei Markov (1978)
23--Scott Gomez (1979)

Notes:

We've got each month represented! February and April are tied for months with the most Habs babies. Spacek's the oldest, beating Hamrlik by two months and a day. Subban's the youngest. He also signed a three-year contract on his 20th birthday (link's in French). Wonder if he waited for that day especially? Hall Gill and Travis Moen should celebrate together, but they're probably more concerned with making the playoffs than getting older at that time of the year. Also, Plekanec (whose birthday is closest to my own) should be the happiest. Free candy for all on his birthday. =)

Sorry to Dustin Boyd and Ryan O'Byrne whose birthdays I missed. Happy belated birthday to you both!

Let's have a year full of habbines and joy.

ETA Eller, Halpern, and Picard on 10/10/31.

Shots on Net [06.08.10]

Short this time as well as summer drags on.

Alex Auld is wearing number 35. The only thing is, will he be sad if Carey Price doesn't sign? Seeing what Gained did last year, I don't think anyone would wear 31 for a year in that case. <Canadiens>

Louis Leblanc scored two goals in the Red vs. White game at the National Junior Team development camp in Newfoundland today. There was also a story on TSN that spoke about how difficult his decision to join the Q was. Important to note that the second goal he scored put his team ahead. The period after that they built up the lead that the Red team could not overcome. Also, that spearing incident is kinda funny. <Hockey Canada, kudos to tweeps>

Carey Price is at the top of NHL.com's list of 'Top RFA's still waiting'. At least they're willing to admit they want a big story. <NHL>

The NHL's looking for a title sponsor for the Heritage Classic. It's all about money. <NY Sports Journalism>

Glen Metropolit is a nice guy. Reading this made me sad. And having to move so many times! I've moved a few times and I complained. I have no right to after reading this. Good luck in Switzerland, former Canadien. <The Montreal Gazette, through HI/O>

Former Hab Chris Chelios has retired. He won the Cup with us in '86. <ESPN>

Doug Jarvis, former assistant coach of the Canadiens, has become the assistant coach of the Bruins. He rejoins Claude Julien, the first Canadiens coach I knew. As a player he didn't get a lot of injuries because that is one great record to hold. Kinda like the perfect attendance award. (LOL Couldn't help it.) <NHL>

Finally, a sad story. Isabel Robitaille, described as an "avid Montreal Canadiens fan" was murdered Wednesday evening. Rest in peace Ms Robitaille. <MyKwartha.com>

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I had thought of something to put here, but it's slipped my mind. T_T

Update: The Bulldogs will be playing the 9^th Annual Molson Canadian Hamilton Bulldogs Charity Golf Classic to benefit the Bulldogs Foundation on Wednesday, October 6 at Piper's Heath Golf Club. <Hamilton Bulldogs, from @dogsplaybyplay>

Shots on Net [04.08.10]

A brief post today.

The Heritage Classic press conference ended about an hour ago. There are quite a few video clips from the event on NHL.com if you missed the conference. The Canadiens have a page dedicated to the Classic, including jersey info. Looks good. You can read the article as well. <Canadiens>

Here's Josh Gorges being interviewed by NHL Network.

News from the Rochester American's fundraiser that Brian Gionta was a part of. Randy Cunneyworth, seen here, was also present. You can see Gionta here. <Rochester Americans>

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Will update if necessary.

Shots on Net [03.08.10]

Not much news about the current team.

Jacques Martin was interviewed by RDS. There's a video and an article, both in French. He talks about his hockey school, the next capitain, and Carey Price among other things. The golf tournament will be on September 16, and training camp will start on the 17th. <RDS>

Alexandre Picard got a $600,000, one-year deal and Louis Leblanc got a 3.6 million dollar deal over 3 years. These salaries kill me as I load myself with debt trying to get an undergraduate education. <Cap Geek>

Former Hab Ryan Walter has ended his tenure as Assistant Coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He won the Cup with us in 1986. <Ryan Walter's official site, first seen at BC Local News>

Georges Laraque has retired from hockey due to back problems and Glen Metropolit is heading to EV Zug in Switzerland for two years. <The Montreal Gazette>

This is a story about a guy you probably don't remember, but I do. Yann Danis debuted in the NHL the first season I became a fan, and recorded a shutout. Being a huge Jose Theodore fan, I was jealous. Though reading his story after all these years, I feel for him. Where would we be if we gave him a chance? He's almost in China for crying out loud! If someone could give him a chance, I'm sure he'd be grateful. His GAA and save percentage aren't terrible. <CKAC (FR)>

Stéphane Richer was at an autograph session in Carbonear, Newfoundland on June 29. You can check out a picture of him with a big Habs fan. <The Compass>

For lulz and because we love The Flower, here's a link to his disco album from 1979. <Disco Delivery, from The Pensblog from Puck Daddy>

Be sure to check out NHL.com on August 17 for their evaluation of the Habs' offseason activities. They're going in alphabetical order by city name, so we're sandwiched between Minnesota and Nashville. <NHL>

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Would Carey sign already? Or are we going with Niemi? (I joke. But wouldn't that be a story if he did? We got rid of our playoff goalie, only to take the Stanley Cup winning goalie. Might be considered an improvement...)

Updates:

You can watch a live stream of the Heritage Classic news conference tomorrow at 3 pm MT (5 pm ET). We suspected this would happen on August 4, thanks to those photo galleries from the future! Now, why aren't the Habs also streaming this? Josh Gorges and Ray Lalonde will be in attendance for the Habs. Steve Staios, Curtis Glencross, and Cory Sarich will be the players there for the Flames. You can find what appears to be a press release here. Kevin Weekes of HNIC and NHL Network will be the MC according to a tweet he made today. <Calgary Flames, hat tip to @JeremyBouch_Eh>

Jacques Demers survived a nearly fatal mistake during his surgery. If you easily get queasy, do not read this. <CTV Montreal, first seen on Twitter>